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Post by kodiak50 on Jan 6, 2012 11:02:20 GMT -5
I have an old mossberg 30'06 boltaction in the back of the safe catching dust. Is the any Indiana applicable calibers this rifle could be converted to? Sorry if this is a stupid question.
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Post by cedarthicket on Jan 6, 2012 11:38:23 GMT -5
The Mossberg .30-06 could be converted to the .358 Hoosier without bolt modification. However, because the .30-06 uses a long action you may very well have problems reliably feeding the much shorter .358 Hoosier cartridge from its magazine. For a bolt action conversion I would suggest a donor rifle originally chambered for the .308 Winchester family of cartridges (e.g., .308 Win, .243 Win, 7mm-08 Rem, 260 Rem, or .22-250 Rem). These rifles typically use short actions and bolt faces that enable the .358 Hoosier to work very well without major alterations to anything but the barrel itself.
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Post by kodiak50 on Jan 6, 2012 12:26:13 GMT -5
Would this be doable with a .357 Handi Rifle?
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Post by cedarthicket on Jan 7, 2012 16:44:08 GMT -5
It is certainly POSSIBLE to rechamber a .357 Handi Rifle to a .358 wildcat. However, if I were a gunsmith (and I am not) I do not believe I would do such a conversion. I believe that nowadays the factory H & R .357 Magnum Handi Rifles come with a receiver designed for LOWER PRESSURE cartridges than do their rifles chambered for such “high power” cartridges as .308 Winchester. To me it would seem a bit too risky that someone could wind up using a “high power” cartridge (including a .358 wildcat) with a low pressure receiver and run into problems, some of which could be serious.
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Post by kodiak50 on Jan 8, 2012 16:08:37 GMT -5
H&R's are chambered for 308, 30'06 up to 500S&W so I would think they would stand the pressure, not sure either.
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Post by cedarthicket on Jan 8, 2012 18:21:11 GMT -5
The .358 Hoosier operates at pressures similar to the .308 Winchester and resulting strains on a rifle receiver should be comparable. As I see it, a significant potential problem with an H&R Handi Rifle barrel conversion to the .358 Hoosier could come from someone trying to use that barrel with an H&R "low pressure" receiver. I am confident that H&R has some basis for their policy of not fitting extra "high power" rifle barrels to their "low pressure" receivers. However, they will fit extra factory rifle barrels to your "high pressure" receiver. If I remember correctly, you must send them both your receiver and stocks. Also, when they fit an extra barrel they may also mark the barrel in some fashion to show that it was their work. This may include applying the last several digits of the receiver serial number to the fitted barrel.
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Post by omegahunter on Jan 9, 2012 10:30:54 GMT -5
If you have a "new" .357 Mag Handi it is likely to be an SB-1 frame (pistol/shotgun) instead of an SB-2 frame (high-power). And just because the barrel of the .357 Mag is marked as SB-2 does not mean the frame is an SB-2. The easiest was to tell which frame you have is to remove the butt stock and look at the rear of the frame. If it is solid with the threaded hole for the butt stock retaining bolt, it is an SB-1. If it is skeletonized around the threaded bolt hole, it is an SB-2 and would be safe to have the conversion to the .358 Hoosier.
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